


What You Wish For

by HiddenBookShelf



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Boruto: Naruto the Movie, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Father-Son Relationship, Gen, Hokage Uzumaki Naruto, Uchiha Sasuke & Uzumaki Naruto Friendship, caged Bird
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-11
Updated: 2019-06-13
Packaged: 2020-04-24 11:11:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 11,601
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19172086
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HiddenBookShelf/pseuds/HiddenBookShelf
Summary: After a heated argument with his father, Boruto decides that he and Himawari are better off not living in Konoha. Sarada decides to tag along in their doomed attempt to run away to make sure they don't get themselves killed. After only a day out of the village, Boruto realizes his mistake and decides to head back. Upon returning home, however, they find themselves in a village untouched by Pain's attack; a village with an Uchiha as Hokage and the Hyuuga Clan are threatening civil war at every turn; a village that is far more dangerous than their own.In that village is another child named Ansei; who has been living as the Hyuuga's lap dog since his first birthday. Full of anger, Ansei is a force to be feared and respected... When Boruto meets his otherworldly sibling, it becomes a race to get his family home and away from the world that seems hellbent on getting rid of the children that shouldn't exist in it.





	1. Be Careful

 

_Chapter One: Be Careful_

There was nothing left. Naruto stared at the torn apart village blankly. “Sensei?” a boy beside whispered softly. “What happened?”

Naruto shook his head. He had no answers. Konoha had received an SOS signal from the small farming village and Naruto and his team had been deployed immediately. That had only been an hour or so ago. He had thought they would arrive to see a battle of sorts, or _anything…_ Instead they were greeted with a small village that looked as if a bomb had been set off in the center. The houses were torn to pieces, some with fires still burning in and around them. Bodies were tossed around the village like dolls in a child’s room after a tantrum.

“Let’s go,” Naruto whispered to the three students beside him. The two females in is group stuck together, as was normal for them, and the boy moved individually, keeping his distance from his team, but also not venturing off too far. Naruto watched them with a hint of pride in his eyes. He had been their sensei for a year now.

He shook his head as they started through the streets of the village. Everyone Naruto checked was dead, but there was no sign of what killed them. Some of the bodies looked like that might have been attacked by an animal, but none of those wounds were fatal.

Naruto knelt in front of a certain body and looked it over. The arms were covered in scratches that were too jagged to come from a Kunai. This person had obviously tried to defend himself, but the way the body wasn’t twisted in any way that suggested he had died fighting. Instead, he looked rather peaceful, other than the scratched on his arm. “That doesn’t make any sense,” Naruto whispered. This man had tried to put up a fight by the defensive wounds on his body… but he had died peacefully, or at least that’s how it appeared.

Each body that Naruto stopped to examine showed the same pattern. The person seemed to have defended themselves in some way, some even died clinging to their weapons, but they all seemed to have died peacefully and calmly.

“Sensei!” the male student called. Naruto jumped. He had almost forgotten that the kids were there. He stood and ran to where the voice had come from.

“What is it, Ansei?” Naruto asked. The black and white haired child was kneeling in front of the body of a young girl.

“She’s alive…” Ansei whispered, turning his pale violet eyes to his sensei.

Naruto’s eyes widened and he hurried to the young girl. He knelt beside Ansei to get a closer look. She looked a little younger than the members of his team; about twelve. Her hair was the color of blood. Naruto gently placed his hand on her throat, feeling the soft pump of blood.

“Taya, Kairi, we’re going!” Naruto called. The two girls appeared silently behind their sensei as Naruto lifted the child in his arms.

* * *

 

“The only survivor?” Kabuto asked. They were now in a small clinic. Naruto nodded slowly. “That doesn’t make any sense. She _should_ be dead.”

“What do you mean?” Naruto asked. The children were outside with the other children in the orphanage. It was also a good time for Ansei to visit his mother.

“She has no chakra.”

“Impossible. Ansei himself saw her chakra signal.”

“Well, it’s gone now,” Kabuto concluded. He stood, straightening out his black and white uniform silently. “Other than that, I don’t see many wounds on her. Just a few on the arms. Have you sent a report to Obito-sama?” Naruto shook his head.

“The orphanage was closer than the village.”

“Are you going back tonight?”

“No. I figured you and Ansei would want to spend some time together, after all.” Kabuto nodded slowly and turned back to the red-haired girl with a mix of pity and understanding.

“And you saw no evidence of what caused this attack?”

“I didn’t,” Naruto answered. “It all seemed so surreal… Like nothing made sense.”

Kabuto smiled sadly at the girl. “We’ll figure this out, but you should make your report, Naruto-san. I will take care of her.”

“Thank you, Kabuto.”

The door behind them opened and in stepped another Hyuuga. Her dark hair fell almost to her ankles. She bowed deeply at the two men. “Good evening, Naruto-san,” she greeted.

“Hinata,” Naruto greeted with an equal bow.

“How is the girl?”

“She should be fine,” Kabuto reported. “None of the wounds are fatal. I will give you updates,” he promised the orange-clad sensei.

“Thank you,” Naruto said with another bow as he left the room.

Kabuto sat down beside the bed again. Hinata came up to him. She wore the same uniform as he did. “How is Ansei doing?” Kabuto asked.

“Good,” Hinata said warmly. “As are the other two children. They told me about the village this child was found it. It’s terrible.”

Kabuto nodded. He knew how the girl would feel when she woke up to find that she was the sole survivor of some battle or attack. “We’ll do what we can for her, and then perhaps she can go to the Leaf Village,” Kabuto assured the woman. “But, if not, she will always have a home here.”

* * *

 

The village look entirely different from the one that Boruto called home. His wide, pale blue eyes stared blankly at the village before him. Instead of the village that had been built in the crater created by Pain’s attack, he was staring at a village that seemed untouched by such a disaster. The Hokage monument still held his grandfather and the Senju brothers, but it didn’t hold Kakashi, Tsunade or Naruto. Instead, it held a face that Boruto didn’t recognize.

“Sarada…?” Boruto whispered nervously.

“I see it,” the girl beside him said quietly. He felt Himawari’s hand tighten around his. Boruto offered his sister a reassuring smile.

“Don’t worry, Hima-chan,” he said, trying to sound positive. “We just gotta find mom or dad and figure out what’s going on!” But what _was_ going on? It had been Boruto’s idea to run away from the village, but they had only been gone a single night. It wasn’t enough time for the entire layout of the village to change. “Genjutsu?” Boruto asked.

Sarada shook her head. “No,” she muttered. “This isn’t a genjutsu.”

Boruto sighed. “Boruto… I want to go home!” Himawari whimpered softly.

“It’s okay!” Boruto said with a smile. “Don’t worry about it, Hima-chan.”

“Yeah!” Sarada said, smiling as well. “Let’s go find our parents!” Boruto nodded. He reached down and picked up Himawari, holding her tightly.

“Let’s go!” Boruto and Sarada nodded at each other and started into the unfamiliar village.

As the small trio moved through the village, Boruto became more and more lost and he held onto his sister tighter, making sure that Sarada was close by at all times. This didn’t make any sense. Even the buildings were older. Almost every building in his version of Konoha was less than twenty years old, but here he was staring at buildings that actually had enough time to get some wear on them. “Where are we going…?” Sarada asked finally.

Boruto stopped walking with that realization. He had _no_ idea where they were going. Obviously Naruto wasn’t Hokage anymore, so making their way to the Hokage mansion would mean nothing, but they had no idea where else to look. “We should start with the Hokage,” Boruto concluded after a moment of silence. “If anything, he’ll know where to find my dad…” Surely they wouldn’t let the Jinchuuriki of the Leaf Village out of their sight.

“That’s a good idea,” Sarada muttered. The two started again, turning a corner only to be slammed into by another boy. Himawari yelped softly and Boruto looked down at the child on that had fallen to the ground. He was Boruto’s age with long, hot pink hair with red highlights. His bright blue eyes stared up at the people who he had run in to. “S-sorry!” the boy said as he scrambled to stand. Boruto looked the child over as he tried to wipe off the dust his salmon colored yukata. He looked at the dark crimson obi and groaned softly. It was dirty.

“Hello,” Boruto greeted cautiously. The boy bowed.

“If you’ll excuse me…” He tried to push past them, but was stopped by Sarada.

“Hey, do you think you could help us?” she asked.

The boy looked at the three, pondering the question. In the following silence, he turned to look back frequently and he shifted his weight from foot to foot uncomfortably. “We need to find Naruto,” Boruto added. That grabbed the child’s attention completely.

“What do you need him for?” he asked with a guarded tone.

“Well, you see…”

Sarada held up her hand, cutting him off. “We need to speak with him.”

“Y-yeah… I’ll take you to him,” the boy said. “Let’s go! We need to hurry!” Before they could leave, however, another trio of children rounded the corner.

“There you are, Taiyaki! Thought you could run off, did you?”

The pinkette yipped softly and turned his back to the ground to face the new group. Boruto tried to see if he could recognize any of the children in the cell in front of him, but he didn’t. One looked like he could be part of the Nara clan. He had on a simple dark green button-up shirt that was lazily tucked into his brown capris. He also had the Nara symbol on his shoulder, but even with that detail, Boruto wasn’t sure. He had never seen a blonde Nara before. The one on the left looked like he could be from the Aburame clan, except he was more than willing to show off the skin that Uncle Shino was usually so eager to hide and he had two grey triangular markings like Uncle Kiba did.

The leader of the group, the one that had spoken, was definitely a Hyuuga. The girl had long, dark hair. Her outfit looked like those of a shrine maiden, except the bottoms were black and tope was a cream color. Her pale violet eyes glared down at the pink-haired boy.

“What do you want, Ansho?” the boy, Taiyaki, it seemed, grumbled.

“Just wanted to see why you think you can just get away from us without saying “good-bye,” is all,” the Hyuuga snapped.

“A-about that… You see, I gotta take these three to see my dad…”

“Dad?” Boruto asked. “We don’t need to see your dad! We need to see _my_ dad!”

“B-but… You said you needed to see Naruto,” Taiyaki whispered.

Boruto opened his mouth to retort, but was cut off by the Hyuuga. “While this is all fascinating, Taiyaki, you haven’t paid your dues yet. Didn’t you want a rematch?”

“He has had enough, Ansho,” the Aburame grumbled, crossing his arms.

“I’ll tell you when he’s had enough!” she snapped.

“Seriously, though,” the Nara-looking one grumbled. “This is troublesome, Ansho. You keep messing with that kid and someone’ll come after you, especially his parents.”

“As if they’d touch me,” she retorted. “They wouldn’t dare! I am part of the esteem Hyuuga Clan!”

The Aburame chuckled slightly. “Yeah. The lower branch is so revered…” he grumbled with a smug grin.

“Why you…!”

“Hey!” Boruto shouted. “What is going on here?! Who are any of you?”

Ansho shook her head slowly. “Name’s Ansho, brat,” she snapped. “This here is Nara Senbei, and that moron is Aburame-Inuzuka Nomi. Oh, and that waste of life before you is Taiyaki.”

The pinkette narrowed his eyes at the girl. “As for what’s going on… I’m not sure. You said you needed Naruto, right?” Boruto nodded. “Well… Then I can take you to him.” Boruto blinked and took a step back, stumbling with all this new information. Himawari whimpered softly and he stroked her back gently. “You… don’t look so good,” Taiyaki noted. “Ansho, I’ll fight you later if you want, but I want to take care of these three.”

The Hyuuga narrowed her eyes, but she seemed to notice that this was a serious matter. “Fine, fine, you little brat.”

Taiyaki sighed deeply as the group turned and left. Nomi offered the pinkette a sympathetic smile before following after the other two. “Yeesh, what’s her problem?” Sarada asked quietly.

Taiyaki shrugged. “She’s in a perpetual bad mood, but she just doesn’t like me, I guess.”

“Why not?”

“There’s a lot of reasons,” Taiyaki grumbled. “And I don’t really want to go into them right now if that’s okay. Come on… let’s get you to Naruto.” Boruto nodded and followed after the child. He looked around them as they walked through. It seemed like he was walking through a distorted dream. Everything looked like it should be familiar, but he wasn’t sure where he had seen it. “So… Why do you want to see my dad?”

That sent a shiver down Boruto’s back. Was Naruto not their father here…? “We think he might be able to help us,” Boruto answered carefully.

“Are you sure you don’t want to see the Hokage?” Taiyaki asked.

“No, Naruto will probably be better.”

“Okay… but he might not be home from his mission. Mom probably is home, though.” Boruto nodded his thanks and stole a look at Sarada. She shook her head slowly. To Boruto, she looked just as lost and confused as he felt. Himawari was holding on to her brother for dear life, shaking slightly in his arms. He tried to calm her down by rubbing her back, but nothing seemed to be working.

The group of four fell into an awkward silence. Boruto didn’t like it. Taiyaki seemed like a good kid, for the most part, but he wasn’t sure he trusted anyone in this strange world. Stories of what Tobi had tried to do to their world made him weary. This all seemed a little too perfect.

Finally the group stopped at a small, single family home. It was quaint, with a small porch and a beautiful garden in front of it. “Mom! I’m home! Is dad?” Taiyaki called when they walked inside.

Boruto’s heart dropped when the woman appeared in the entrance. “Tai-kun!” Sakura gasped. “Why are you home so early, young man?” She moved over to the child and squatted down in front of him. He turned away from his mother. “Shoes off,” she teased, kissing him on the cheek. It was then that she noticed the three unfamiliar children standing on the stone floor. “Taiyaki, who are your friends.”

“Name’s Boruto, and this is my sister, Himawari,” Boruto introduced, trying to keep his voice from shaking.

“M-mom…?” Sarada whimpered softly. Sakura blinked and turned to the girl.

“This is Uchiha Sarada!” Boruto introduced quickly.

“Taiyaki… Who are these children?”

The boy shrugged. “I don’t know. They wanted to talk to dad.”

Sakura turned her attention to Sarada. Boruto looked at her carefully. She didn’t look any different than he remembered her. _So, dad married Sarada’s mom in this twisted dream?_ He concluded.

“Sweetie, why did you call me mom?” Sakura asked gently. She rested her hand on Sarada’s shoulder. Boruto flinched when Sarada pulled back almost violently.

“Don’t touch me!” Sarada snapped. Boruto wanted to reach out to her. She was usually the more level-headed of the two, though not nearly as level-headed as Mitsuki. To see her breaking down almost made him want to follow her.

“Sarada-chan,” Boruto whispered. The Uchiha shook her head.

“This is insane!” She spun around to leave, only to find herself face to face with the former Hokage himself.

Boruto bit his lip as he turned around to face his father. “Daddy!” Himawari called, wiggling out of Boruto’s grip and running to the man. Boruto looked up at him with a hint of sadness and confusion. Like Sakura, he didn’t look different. His hair was longer, more like Minato’s, and instead of the orange coat, he wore the normal jounin flak jacket with a bright orange undershirt instead of the standard navy blue.

Naruto looked down at the child clinging to his leg with confusion in his eyes. “Daddy?” Sakura repeated. Naruto blushed slightly and shrugged.

“I-I’m sorry!” Boruto gasped suddenly. He grabbed his sister away from the imposter. “We have to go!” He grabbed Sarada’s arm and pushed past Naruto to get back outside.

“Hey, kids! Wait!” Naruto called, but Boruto didn’t stop running. He wanted to cry. Sarada was already crying and Himawari too was sobbing quietly into his shoulder. “Wait up!” Naruto called again. Boruto turned to see that both he and Sakura were following them.

“Should we stop?” Boruto asked Sarada. She shrugged, leaving Boruto to make the choice. After a few more moments of running, he stopped. Sarada continued for a few more meters before she too stopped. Boruto set his sister down so she could go to Sarada while Boruto grabbed a kunai from his pouch.

Naruto stopped instantly and held his hands up to show that he wasn’t armed. Sakura stopped a little way behind Naruto to give them all some space. “It’s okay,” Naruto said gently. “No one is going to hurt you.” Boruto narrowed his eyes and tightened his grip on the weapon. “It’s okay,” Naruto repeated, even calmer than before. “Just tell me what’s wrong.” Boruto took a step back. How could they explain this to Naruto or Sakura? And where was Sasuke? None of this made sense.

“Let us go.”

“To where?” Naruto asked.

“I don’t know,” Boruto admitted.

“Well,” Naruto said slowly. “Why don’t you three come back with us and we can decide together what to do, okay?” Boruto took another step back. Naruto also took a step back, trying to give the frightened children some space. “Come on.”

Boruto shook his head. This wasn’t his father; at least not anymore. Even if it was in their reality, he still wouldn’t be running to his dad’s arms. Naruto had proven time and time again that his job as Hokage was more important to him than his family. Boruto raised his hand and a moment later he heard footsteps running away from them. Naruto didn’t react, but Sakura did as the two females of their group took off running. Boruto took a few more steps back.

“You don’t have to run,” Naruto whispered. “We want to help you.”

Boruto took the knife in his hand and hurled it at Naruto before taking off after Sarada and his sister. He didn’t even wait to see if his attack hit. Luckily, it seemed that Naruto either didn’t have the speed he had in their world or he just wasn’t taking this chase seriously because it wasn’t long before the trio lost him.

They kept running through the streets of the village, staring up at unfamiliar faces and getting weird looks from the villagers as they did so. Eventually, they stopped in an old, abandoned building. It was getting dark as clouds rolled in, threatening a storm. Boruto took Himawari from Sarada and went about settling her down. They stayed silent as the storm outside began and the day wore on.

“What are we going to do…? Boruto asked finally. It was nearing night time. Sarada jumped, startled after so long in silence.

“I… Don’t know,” she whispered after a moment. “Your dad and my mom… and they have a son?” Boruto nodded. Taiyaki was, for all purposes, their half-brother.

“I don’t know either,” Boruto said. “Maybe if we can find your dad or my mom.”

“You don’t think _they_ are together, do you?”

Boruto blinked. That thought hadn’t even crossed his mind. Who was his mother with if she wasn’t with Naruto? He had heard story after story about how Naruto was his mother’s only choice in life. How was she in this world where Naruto didn’t pick her? Did she move on? “I doubt it,” he said finally.

“Me too,” Sarada agreed. “Are we staying here tonight, then?”

“Yeah. Tomorrow we should try to talk to the Hokage.”

“And tell him what, Boruto?” Sarada snapped. “Are we just going to walk in there and say ‘hello, Hokage-sama, we’re from an alternate reality where we’re the children of Naruto and Hinata and Sasuke and Sakura? Oh, and, by the way, the village we’re from was destroyed and then rebuilt!’ We’d be thrown into some sort of insane asylum!”

“Then what do you think we should do?”

“We have to make up a story and stick with it. Then we need to gather information. Dad can enter through dimensions, so maybe we can find him and see if he can tell us anything.”

Boruto nodded. “Sounds good to me. But first, we need a story.”

* * *

 

  
“Naruto… Tai’s in bed. Are you coming?” Sakura said quietly. The blonde shook his head. Those kids had looked terrified, especially the blonde. “You’re worried about them, aren’t you?”

Naruto nodded. “I already called Obito-sama about them.” He clenched his fists.

Sakura rested her hands on Naruto’s shoulder. “I know this must be hard for you, but they looked to be in good health.”

“The attack was only a few days ago,” Naruto muttered. “They could very well be from that farming village. They had no headbands.”

“The girl was introduced as an Uchiha,” Sakura pointed out.

“The little one called me daddy,” Naruto continued as if he didn’t hear Sakura. He had felt a connection to those children. “You don’t feel like you’ve met them before?” Sakura shook her head.

“I’m sure they’ll be fine, Naruto,”

Naruto shook his head. He turned and kissed her on the forehead. “I’m going to go look for them. If I’m not back by morning, I probably went to stay at my dad’s house. Tell Tai that I’ll see him later, okay?”

Sakura frowned slightly. “Alright, alright. Maybe you should call Hinata-san,” she suggested. “They will need a place to stay, after all.” Naruto nodded. The orphanage would be good for the children. He had been there earlier that week after dropping off that girl from the village. _Maybe they_ are _from that village,_ Naruto thought. While the children didn’t look like they were in terrible condition, it was possible that they had been from the village, but hadn’t been in the village at the time of the attack. It was too much of a coincidence that these three children appeared in the village shortly after an entire village was murdered in a matter of minutes.

 _Whatever the reason and whoever they are, those kid need help…_ Naruto thought.

 


	2. Obito

> _Chapter Two: Obito_

“Three kids, huh?” Minto asked as he poured a cup of tea for his son. Naruto smiled. “You didn’t find them, I’m guessing.”

“No,” Naruto grumbled, stirring his cup slowly. “I looked everywhere.”

Minato smiled. “Well, not everywhere,” he teased, seating himself across the small table. Naruto frowned in a very child-like pout. “Oh, stop it.” The frown on Naruto’s face turned into a soft smile. “I’m sure they’re fine, Naruto. We’ll talk to Obito in the morning. How’s Tai?” he asked, trying to keep his son’s mind from wandering.

Naruto’s frown returned, without the pout. “Still being bullied,” he admitted. “I’ll have to talk to Neji again about Ansho. Apparently she’s been fighting Tai a lot.”

“Maybe you should let Konohamaru handle it,” Minato suggested.

Naruto shook his head and sipped the cup of tea. “I don’t think so. Konohamaru is a great sensei, but I’d rather be the one to talk to Neji… Or Lady Hanabi.”

“I wouldn’t go to the Hyuuga Elders or the head branch about this… You know how they can get, especially with lower branch members.”

“Yeah,” Naruto grumbled. “Mind if I stay here tonight?”

“You know you don’t have to ask,” Minato said. “But why don’t you go home? It’s not late.” Naruto sighed and turned away. Minato’s gaze softened. “What happened?”

“Nothing,” Naruto lied. Minato could always tell when his son was lying to him.

“You and Sakura get in an argument?”

“N-no! It’s nothing like that!” Naruto quickly assured his father. “It’s just… I don’t know how to talk to her about what happened at that village. My students are still shaken up about it.” He closed his eyes. “And it’s also about those kids. That little girl… She called me dad.”

Minato lifted an eyebrow. “Well, do you have any children I need to know about?” he asked. Naruto felt like throwing the cup of tea at his father’s head. “Naruto-kun, something is wrong. If it’s not Sakura, and it’s not Tai, then what is it?”

“This is the fourth attack on a civilian village in the past six months,” Naruto said quietly. “Obito-sama has my team investigating them all. This was the first one where there were no survivors except for one. We all thought this one would match this pattern, but it didn’t. Whatever attacked this village… it wasn’t human; at least I don’t think it was. The attacks were animalistic.”

“Jinchuuriki?” Minato suggested. Naruto shook his head.

“We know where all the Jinchuuriki are. No one has reported any of them missing. I spoke to Kabuto this morning. The girl still hasn’t woken up, but she also isn’t regaining any chakra. Hinata-san can’t even find a signal on her anymore.” Naruto clenched his fists. “And now I have to travel to the Mist village and talk to their Kage. Apparently they’ve been having a similar pattern.”

“Oh… How long will you and your team be gone?” Minato asked, finally understanding. Even if his son wasn’t Hokage, he was still one of Obito’s advisors, having grown up around the position of Hokage his entire life. It was the obvious choice. The job was demanding, and was becoming increasingly more so as the world fell deeper into chaos. Naruto had, in recent years, been away from the village more than he had actually been in the village.

“A month, maybe more,” Naruto grumbled. Minato’s shoulders dropped.

“Maybe you can take Tai and Sakura with you, hm?”

Naruto smiled softly. “Probably not a good idea. Sakura has to stay here. She has classes to teach, and Tai’s never been out of the village that long. Besides, he might not be so eager to be stuck with Ansho’s cousin.”

“I would imagine Hinata’s son would be nicer than Neji’s daughter.”

“You would think,” Naruto grumbled. Ansei was a mystery. Even Naruto, who had been the child’s sensei for a year, had yet to get the boy to open up to him. While he was usually calm and quiet, Naruto knew there was a sleeping dragon in that child, waiting to be released. The only reason he was here and not living at the orphanage with his parents was because he was still a member of the main branch, and with Hanabi’s own son sickly and weak, Ansei was chosen to be the younger boy’s official bodyguard and advisor. He had been torn from his parents and his home at a very young age to begin his training with the Hyuuga clan.

He had been given to Naruto as a genin to assist in his fighting skills. The Guard of the Head of the Hyuuga Clan had to be able to defend himself, after all.

Minato offered his son a reassuring smile. “Sakura will understand, Naruto. She always does.”

Naruto sighed. “I know. I just wish the world would give me five minutes to be a dad for once.” Minato reached his hand out, but Naruto rejected the touch. Minato remembered having the same feelings when he was Hokage and didn’t have all the time he wanted to play or train with Naruto. “I’m going to bed.”

“Good night, then.” Minato whispered as he watched his son move out of the kitchen. He looked up at the ceiling and sighed. “You were always better with him than I was,” he prayed. “Watch over him, Kushina-chan…”

* * *

 

Sarada wanted to go home, but she didn’t say as much as she followed Boruto through the streets of the village. Himawari gripped the Uchiha’s hand tightly and Sarada made sure the little girl wasn’t scared. They had gone over the plan many times the night before and even more times that morning. They would speak to the Hokage, they would tell him their story, and then they would request information on Sasuke. From there, they would hopefully get home.

They stopped in front of the Hokage mansion. Boruto sighed. It looked nothing like the home that they were used to. “It’ll be okay,” she said quietly to the two Uzumaki children.

“I know,” Boruto said. She sighed. It was typical of her teammate to not show any sort of weakness, even though she knew he was just as terrified as Himawari was. The encounter with Naruto yesterday hadn’t gone as well as they would have liked, and even though Boruto would never admit it, Sarada had seen how shaken up he had been.

“Hey, you kids!” Sarada jumped and turned around. A young man stood behind them. “Can I help you?” he asked. He had dark grey hair, styled to look a lot like Kakashi’s. He did look a lot like Kakashi. The man sighed and removed his dog ANBU mask. “You need to talk to the Hokage?”

“Y-yeah!” Sarada said with a quick nod.

“Well, I’ll take you to him. Come on.” He pushed passed the three kids. “Who are you three anyway? I’ve never seen you before.”

“I’m Boruto, and this is my sister, Himawari,” Boruto introduced.

“Boruto? That’s an odd name,” the man said with a shrug.

“Why you…!”

“My name’s Sarada!” Sarada interjected quickly.

“Name’s Meigetsu,” the man greeted. He turned and grinned at them. Sarada turned away shyly. He wasn’t bad looking at all.

“Meigetsu! Who are your friends?” The grey-haired boy jumped as Kakashi himself rounded the corner. Sarada blinked. The man didn’t look as worn and tired here; like his life had been easier somehow.

“Dunno, dad. I found them outside.”

“You _found_ them?” Kakashi asked.

“Yeah. They seemed lost… Said they wanted to talk to Obito-sama.”

“Obito…?” Boruto repeated. Sarada’s fist clenched. She had heard the stories of what Obito had done in their world. While Naruto had always tried to talk about him like he was some great hero or something. Sakura made sure to tell Sarada that Naruto liked to see things as idealistically as possible. Obito may had been misguided, but he still almost brought about the end of the world.

“What’s _he_ doing as Hokage?” Sarada snapped before she could stop herself. Both Kakashi and his son turned to look at the girl, confused.

“Hm?”

“You know him?” Meigetsu asked.

Sarada felt heat ride to her cheeks and she turned away quickly to hide the blush.

“Don’t listen to her! She’s crazy,” Boruto tried to defend quickly. Kakashi turned to the blonde kid with a skeptical look.

“Who are you three?” he asked.

“Just some orphans,” Sarada said, trying to patch up the situation. The four ninja glared at each other. Sarada could feel the tension she had caused. Her eyes watched as Boruto reached for his weapon’s pouch. She opened her mouth to stop him, but was cut off.

“I want to go home!” Himawari shrieked suddenly, making everyone in the hallway jump. Boruto turned to his sister. She was crying softly. Sympathy took over Sarada’s fear. The poor child had less of a clue as to what was happening that she and Boruto did. “I want mommy and daddy!”

_That’ll help us,_ Sarada thought, though she felt bad about it. She had already said they were orphans, now one of them was crying for her parents. Boruto hugged his sister tightly and lifted her up in his arms. He rubbed her back slowly to calm her down. “We can’t go home right now, Hima-chan,” he whispered.

“Dad, I think they’re just scared.” Meigetsu assured his father. Kakashi shook his head.

“You’re right. Come on, you three, let’s get you to the Hokage.” Boruto nodded, letting Sarada take the lead. He followed behind them, whispering calming words to his sister. Sarada clenched her fists. She felt so useless in this situation. How could they hope to get home? _But, if Obito is Hokage,_ she thought, _does that mean the Uchiha are alive…?_

As they neared the office, the door opened up revealing a young woman with long dark brown hair. She too wore an ANBU uniform. Her smile faded the moment her dark eyes landed on Meigetsu and Kakashi. “H-hello, Kakashi-san, Meigetsu-kun,” she stammered shyly.

“Tobimasu,” Meigetsu greeted. It wasn’t cold, but it wasn’t exactly familiar.

“Good morning, Tobi-chan,” Kakashi said with a wide smile. “How are you?”

“G-good, Kakashi-san!” the woman answered.  “If you’ll excuse me…!” She ducked between the two grey-haired men and practically darted down the hall.

Kakashi sighed and looked at his son. “What?” Meigetsu asked.

“Nothing, nothing. You wouldn’t get it anyway, you dense fool.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?!”

“If I have to explain it to you son, you will never get it,” Kakashi teased.

Meigetsu glared playfully at his father, but the conversation ended there. Kakashi opened the door to the office. “Hello, Obito- _sama,_ ” he said with the most over the top bow he could muster.

The man sitting behind the Hokage desk looked at Kakashi with a mix of pure annoyance and utter endearment. The dark haired man pulled his hat over his face to hide what was obviously a chuckle at his friend’s antics. “Lord Hokage,” Meigetsu greeted with a real bow.

“Hello, Mei.” Obito returned the greeting with a nod, but still hid his face.

“So, what’s Tobi doing visiting her daddy?” Kakashi asked. Obito lifted his hat to reveal one eye to glare at Kakashi.

“She brought me my lunch,” he grumbled.

Kakashi smirked. “Aw, little Uchiha forgot his lunch,” he teased.

“I oughda have you arrested,” Obito grumbled.

“You wouldn’t do that to me.”

Sarada coughed slightly to alert them of their presence. Obito became almost instantly serious once he finally noticed the three strangers in his office. “I see you brought guests, Kakashi.” Sarada was surprised how quickly the man switched personalities.

“Actually, Mei found them,” Kakashi admitted. “I just decided to come up with them.”

Meigetsu nodded. “I found them outside,” he explained. “They said they wanted to speak with you.”

Boruto and Sarada looked at each other. They had agreed that she would do all the talking. She was better at lying than he was, after all.

She stepped forward and bowed to the Hokage. “Hello, Lord Hokage,” she said quietly. “We three are orphans. When we returned to our village, everyone was dead.” She allowed her voice to quiver. It wasn’t hard. The experience she was describing wasn’t unlike their actual situation. “My name is Sarada, he is Boruto and the little girl is Himawari. We… we request an audience with Uchiha Sasuke.”

The entire room suddenly became deathly silent. Even the two proctors that were discussing something in the corner froze at the name. Sarada felt her hands becoming clammy. She resisted the urge to look at Boruto. What had she said wrong? Was Sasuke not alive? Was he not in the village?

Obito seemed very serious when he spoke his next words, slowly and carefully he asked “How do you know that name?”

Sarada clenched her fists and swallowed.

“We heard it!” Boruto said quickly. “We heard he might be able to help us.”

Obito surveyed the three children carefully. “Uchiha Sasuke has not stepped foot in this village in over twenty years,” he said. Sarada felt a pain in her chest. Even here, her dad wasn’t in the village. She tried to get rid of the lump in her throat. Boruto seemed to catch her inability to speak.

“Do you know where we can find him?” he asked.

“I do not,” Obito admitted. “Sasuke left the village and hasn’t been seen since. Why do you need his help?”

Sarada turned to Boruto. How would they explain this? “Sarada is an Uchiha,” Boruto explained without skipping a beat. “Sasuke’s name was mentioned to us and we were told he could help train her. They said the last time they heard of Sasuke, he was here. I guess the information is old.” He added with a nervous chuckle.  

Obito sighed deeply and stood, walking to the children. Sarada resisted the urge to run. What would the unstable Hokage do to them? “You three are orphans?” he asked.

“Yessir,” Boruto whispered. Sarada wanted to hug him for taking over. Obito rubbed the bridge of his nose. He seemed ready to speak, but stopped when there was a knock on the door.

“Come in,” he called. Sarada turned to see Naruto step into the office.

“Oh! It’s you three!” Naruto exclaimed. It was now Boruto’s turn to be stunned into silence. Himawari whimpered longingly for her father, but Boruto was quick to silence her.

“You know these kids?” Obito asked.

“They’re the ones I told you about last night.” Naruto smiled and squatted down to get at their level. “Are you three okay?” he asked.

“We are,” Sarada said. Himawari wiggled out of her brother’s arms and ran to Naruto, who accepted her embrace with a soft smile. Sarada’s gaze softened at the sight. Even if they weren’t his kids in this twisted reality, he was still the kind-hearted man he had been in their world.

“Well, Naruto, what is it, then?” Obito asked.

“I was just saying that we are going to leave in the morning,” Naruto reported.

“Oh? Well, if that’s the case, do you think you can accompany these children to the orphanage?” Obito asked.

“What?” Sarada, Boruto and Naruto all said in unison.

“We will do what we can to find Sasuke for you three, if that is who you truly believe will help you,” Obito explained, “but that will not be a simple, or a short process. It is best that you have a place to stay until then. I’m sure Naruto won’t mind traveling with you to the orphanage… _right,_ Naruto?” Obito added with a slight glare that sent a shiver down Sarada’s spine. This man had a personality for any occasion, it seemed.

Naruto grinned sheepishly. “Sure, Lord Hokage. I will gladly bring these children to the orphanage.” He said, almost nervously.

“Good!” Obito said, smiling widely.

_How many masks does he have?_ Sarada wondered.

“So, you are leaving in the morning, then?” Obito asked. Naruto nodded. “Then these three can remain here until you leave.”

“Of course,” Naruto said. He placed the girl in his arms on the ground. She frowned and looked at her brother. Boruto merely shrugged at their youngest.

“See you tomorrow,” Himawari said, almost sadly.

Naruto nodded. “Meigetsu, can you take them to the guest rooms?” Obito asked. The young grey-haired man nodded and ushered the three children towards the door.

“Actually, Obito-sama, I have another request as well…” Naruto started as the door shut behind the group.

* * *

 

Kabuto never liked being away from his orphanage for long, so the journey to the desolate village that had been attacked was hard for the Father. He trusted Hinata to take care of things while he was gone, and his brother was more than capable of running the place, since he had been there longer, after all, but Kabuto still liked to be there. Hinata may have learned medical jutsu from him, but he still saw himself as superior to her skills. He had two ANBU with him as he stared down at the village from the hill that over looked it. It was a depressing sight. Other ANBU teams were combing the wreckage for any evidence that might have been left by the attackers.

“Is there a reason we couldn’t do this over phone?” Kabuto asked the ANBU chief as he ran up the hill to greet the black and white clad medic and his two escorts.

The chief bowed to the medic. Even if, technically, the ANBU leader held a higher rank in the Land of Fire than Kabuto did, there was a certain respect held for the medic and what he had done with the run down and small orphanage.  “My deepest apologies, but my team and I have discovered something disturbing about this attack.”

Kabuto raised an eyebrow and looked behind the man to the rows of bodies behind him. “Something more disturbing than an entire village of people dying in a matter of minutes?” Kabuto asked.

“Yessir!” the chief said. “There are no child victims here!”

Kabuto’s eyes widened. He pushed passed the man. “Impossible! A village like this… It was thriving last time I checked! They had children living in this village!”

“There is evidence that there were children living in the village, Kabuto-san, but none of the victims in the village seem to be under the age of fifteen.”

Kabuto clenched his fists. That was impossible, unless the kids were taken. “I have to return to the orphanage!” he gasped.

“Not yet. That isn’t the only bit of news, or we could have done this over the phone. We need you to examine a body.”

Kabuto pushed his glasses up his nose and nodded. “Fine,” he grumbled. He followed the man silently. A single body was a distance away from the other bodies. “What’s so special about this one?” Kabuto asked. The man lifted the sheet from the now naked body of a woman. At first, Kabuto saw nothing. It was simply a dead body. He saw nothing special about it.

But then it hit him. There was nothing special about this one. Naruto had mentioned a pattern in the bodies. They all had defensive wounds on them, but none fatal. The girl who they had brought in also followed that pattern, but this woman… she had no marks on her at all. Kabuto knelt beside the body and blinked. Unlike other bodies that had been dead for days and without preservation, this one had not begun to decay. In fact, she didn’t even look dead.

He examined the body slowly, looking for anything that showed how she died, but found no sign. He pulled out his medical kit from his pack and began an autopsy on the woman, but again found nothing that told him how she died. He shook his head. “This doesn’t make any sense,” he whispered. “She should be alive. There’s no poison in her system and there are no telling wounds on her. Is this the only one like this?” he asked. The chief nodded slowly. Kabuto clenched his fists. “I will need to do a thorough examination. I want this body to come back with me, along with a few others that are in good enough shape. The youngest ones you can find!”

Kabuto looked at the sky. Why weren’t they any child victims in the attack? He thought about the other civilian attacks that Naruto had told him. Surely he would remember if those attacks had left no child victims. Naruto would be sure to inform him of that.

And then there was the girl. Why had she been left there? Was she somehow important to all this? Kabuto shook his head and started back for his home. He had to figure this out and he wasn’t about to let anything stump him. The attackers must have taken the children, but why not the girl? The other attacks had left no one alive. Why was she suddenly left alive? Why was any of this happening? Why would someone be so interested in attacking civilian villages? It wasn’t even strategic. While this one had been a farming village, it wasn’t anywhere near the most important to the Land of Fire. It only really provided crops for itself and a few exports to help their small economy. The other villages were the same. A fishing village, a farming village… Why were they killing civilians that wouldn’t strategically weaken the Land of Fire?

All these thoughts and more ran through the man’s mind as he raced back to his home. The bodies would be delivered later where he could get a better look at them. None of this made any sense. _The children have to be somewhere,_ Kabuto thought, and then he stopped as a realization hit him. For a moment, he was frozen, staring blankly ahead. They were harvesting the kids! That was the only logical explanation! The other attacks didn’t leave everyone dead, and some were missing, sure, so it didn’t rouse as much suspicion, but now, the whole village was dead _except_ the children!

“And the girl,” Kabuto said aloud. “But… why…?”

The answer to that question came like a ton of bricks in the pit of his stomach. Whoever _they_ were, they wanted to know where the Land of Fire would take her. The existence of the orphanage was no secret, but the location of it was. Many of the kids they housed had sensitive information. Most were the children of assassination targets and some were even the targets themselves. Only people who needed to know the location of the orphanage knew the location. Kabuto took off at high speeds towards the complex.

“We have to evacuate immediately!” he thought out loud as he ran faster. “And we can’t take any more in until we get to the bottom of this!”

 


	3. The Cage

 

> _Chapter Three: The Cage_

“Get up!” Ansei groaned, but before he could open his eyes, a foot impacted his side. “I said get up!” the voice snapped again.

“Yeah, yeah,” the boy grumbled, rolling off his pallet on the ground. He yawned and looked up at the stern face of his grandfather. “What time is it?”

“Three thirty,” the old man snapped. “You’re late.”

“I have a mission,” Ansei protested as he scrambled out of his night clothes and replaced them with his training garb.

“That’s exactly why you are getting up this early. You need to train,”

Ansei ran his hand down his long white and black hair, all the while glaring at his grandfather. He turned to his mirror and sighed before placing a bandage over the green curse mark on his forehead. “Let’s go, then,” he snapped. He tried to push past the elderly man, but was grabbed. He winced as the pressure threatened to break his arm.

“Know your place, boy,” he snapped. Ansei ripped his arm out of Hiashi’s grip. The two glared at each other, Byakugan locked with Byakugan. After a moment, the elder tore his gaze away from the teenager. Ansei smirked and turned away from his grandfather.

“I know my place,” Ansei answered with a smirk. “You might do well to learn yours.” He didn’t even expect the curse mark to be used, even though the old man could use it whenever he wanted. The boy scoffed and headed for the yard where his trainer would be waiting for him. He was too important to injure, even if he was treated like a slave in their family. He could get away with mouthing off to them because they couldn’t kill him. They needed him far more than he needed them. The mark was merely a formality. It had scared him once. Now, he bore it proudly, as a symbol of how weak they truly were.

They couldn’t cage a phoenix.

Ansei stepped into the training field to face his uncle. “Hello, father,” he said with a slight smirk.

“You don’t have to call me that here,” the man muttered.

“I don’t _have_ to call you that anywhere,” Ansei pointed out. The older Hyuuga sighed deeply.

“I suppose you’re right. Let’s go, then.” The two lunged for each other.

Ansei was fierce in everything he did. Hyuuga were known for their elegant fighting style and their control. Watching them was almost like watching dancers. The beauty of Ansei’s attacks were not only the light-footed, dance-like movements, but also the power they concealed in them. A tap from that boy could send a grown man flying back several meters. Ansei was a prodigy in the purest sense of the word, surpassing even Neji’s raw talent. His attacks could be so powerful and broad, he could use his chakra to blow buildings to bits, or shatter a chakra system, or precise enough to severe a single capillary in the wrist. The boy was truly terrifying.

His uncle stumbled back after a particularly difficult training spar, but Ansei wasn’t finished. He lunged at his uncle, even after the man had called that he was finished. Before he could hit, however, blinding pain exploded in his head, turning his vision white. Ansei screamed and dropped to his knees, clawing at his bi-colored hair, ripping his scalp. _Are they finally going to kill me?!_ he thought as he fell onto his side, howling.

Just as quickly as the pain started, it ended, leaving him gasping on the ground, shaking violently. When his vision finally faded back to reality, he looked up to see his great grandfather staring down at him. “Hiashi has been far too soft on you,” the eldest Hyuuga snapped. “We may not be able to kill you, _boy¸_ but we can make you wish you were dead.”

“Too late,” Ansei whispered. It was the first time in almost ten years he had felt the power of the mark. They had always been careful not to use it. No one could know he had the curse mark. He wanted to reveal it to anyone who asked, and it wasn’t even the fear of death the prevented him from showing them. It was what he knew they would do to him afterward, and not only that, but what they would do to his true parents. If it was merely his life at stake, he would gladly reveal to the village that he was a cursed Hyuuga, but there were far harsher ramifications than his own death if he ever revealed it. Fear was more powerful than any curse mark.

“Go wash up,” the elder snapped. Ansei nodded and walked away from them, shooting a glance at his uncle, who was merely watching him with sadness in his eyes. While he was glaring at the shy man left in the yard, he didn’t see his other uncle as he slammed right into him.

“N-Neji-san…!” Ansei gasped, bowing deeply to the man. He knew it tore the elders up when he showed more respect for the lower branch members than he did them.

Neji stared down at the child with cold eyes. “Hello, Ansei-sama,” he said quietly. Ansei flinched slightly, hating being called anything so respectful. He knew Neji knew he hated it as well, but the man had to treat him like that no matter if they were in private or public. It was the law. “I thought the Hyuuga had no blind spots.”

“My apologies, Neji-san,” Ansei said, bowing again. Neji sighed and waved his hand to show that he didn’t much care when the young Hyuuga did.

“How was your training session with Tori?”

Ansei turned back to where he had left his uncle. The man was gone now, but the dirt was still disturbed from where he had hit. “It was beneficial.” Ansei grumbled. He wished Neji could teach him. The man was the only one in the Hyuuga Clan that could go toe-to-toe with Ansei. “Do you think you and I could spar?” he asked.

Neji looked down at the boy and shook his head. “I have other duties to take care of,” he muttered.

“What if I ordered you to?” Ansei challenged.

Neji narrowed his eyes. “You may be special outside this compound, but inside, you and I are equals. Don’t think for a moment that they care about you, Ansei.”

Ansei sighed. He knew that the elders would rather he be dead or living away from the village with his parents. “Very well,” he snapped, pushing past the man.

“Ansei, you’d do best to just leave it be,” Neji called after him. “They don’t like it when you make trouble!”

Ansei narrowed his eyes. He hated it. They all told him that he should just let it go and move on, to accept the lot he had been given in life. He clenched his fists. No one even knew what it was like. He tugged on a handful of his own hair absentmindedly as he headed towards his room to get ready for his mission.

“Leaving so soon?” Ansho snapped from a branching off hallway.

“Leave me alone, Ansho,” the boy grumbled. He wasn’t in the mood to get into a fight with her.

“Why should I?” she asked. “Is it because you think you’re better than us.”

“I know I’m not,” Ansei answered.

“Oh, please!” Ansho snapped, stepping up to the boy. “Spare me your false modesty! I know you think you’re better than everyone here. Or, at least you feel like you’re the only one suffering!” She laughed and shoved him back. The boy clenched his fists tightly. He was a year older than she was and she knew not to make him angry. He put a foot behind him, ready to lunge. “You walk around this compound like you are the gods’ gift to the world! You’re not!”

“I know I’m not,” Ansei repeated.

“You are nothing,” she growled. “You are less than nothing!”

White hot rage overtook the boy and before he knew it, he was gripping her throat, holding her off the ground. A manic smile crossed his face as rage swirled inside him. Killing her would be easy. He could snap her neck without much effort, or he could send some his chakra into her throat and severe an important artery. He squeezed tighter and her cries for help or mercy were cut off. He could cut off her air supply and watch her die slowly.

He was sick of it. The Main Family hated him because he was part of the Branch family; better yet, he was the son of the failure who had been disowned when her rightful place was at the head. But he also found no love in the Branch Family. They all hated him because he was special to the Main Family. He was needed in a way that they weren’t.

His whole body shook as the rage he had hid behind a silent mask came to the surface. He’d show them…! He’d show all of them!

Suddenly his arm felt like it was being crushed. Ansei screamed as his arm contorted and twisted in pain. He brought the limb his chest. Ansho fell to the floor, coughing blood into her hands. Neji was by his daughter’s side in a second. No one made a move to help the boy as he stumbled back, howling as if his arm was being ripped apart. He looked down to see green marks glowing on the limb that was similar the curse mark on his forehead. The vine-like pattern slowly began to vanish, leaving the limb twitching and shaking with muscle spasms.

“Get ready for your mission,” Hiashi ordered. He turned to his nephew. “Take her to the infirmary.”

Neji nodded and lifted the child in his arms. He stopped once to look at Ansei as he passed him. Ansei jumped slightly. The look the man had for the boy that had tried to kill his daughter was not fear or anger, but profound sadness and pity.

* * *

 

“The boy grows more unstable every day,” Hiashi said quietly. “He needs to be trained better… _Here,_ not out there with Naruto! Naruto has no knowledge of how to train a Hyuuga! He has potential that needs to be recognized!”

“We can’t do that,” one of the elders said. “Naruto and his team have been working on this for almost a year. If we were to pull Ansei out now, that would rouse suspicion with the village, especially with the Hokage. It would also break our agreement with Hinata. Ansei is supposed to be a normal ninja until his eighteenth birthday.”

“But will he last that long?” Hiashi asked. “Will he last without bringing more attention to himself? The boy can barely contain himself anymore! You saw what he almost did this morning! He can’t be trusted out there! He must be confined to the Hyuuga compound!”

“We promised Hinata-chan that he would live as normal of a life as possible,” Hanabi interjected between the two elders. “If we were to pull Ansei-kun out of this mission, he would be stuck here. We had a deal with Hinata-chan and we will not break that deal.”

“I understand, my Lady, but the boy-“

“ _The boy_ has a name,” Hanabi snapped firmly.

“ _Ansei_ must learn his place, Lady Hanabi,” Hiashi reasoned. “I am the guiltiest of this, but we have been letting him get away with far too much. He needs to learn who he is and where he stands in this Clan.”

Hanabi sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose. “Ansei will go on his mission with Naruto,” she decided. “When he returns, we will discuss this matter further. The Leaf Village cannot become suspicious of us.”

“Lady Hanabi, with all due respect, I don’t believe that this is wise! Ansei is deadly and he can’t control it! We would rouse more suspicion if he kills one of teammates while on that mission!”

“Your grandson is not a murderer!” Hanabi snapped. “Have you so little faith in him? He knows his duty to his Clan.”

“If the child is to be an effective weapon, my Lady, he must fly under the radar,” Hiashi reasoned.

“And if we pull him out now, that will only draw attention to him!” Hanabi said to her father, glaring at him. “He will do his duty.”

“We don’t know _what_ that boy will do! He is a monster!” Hiashi growled.

“That you created,” Hanabi countered with a dangerous edge to her voice. “My nephew will do his duty and he will go on this mission. When he returns, we will have prepared for this.”

Hiashi stared at his daughter for a long moment, then sighed, relenting. “As you wish, Lady Hanabi,” he said with as much respect he could muster.

Hanabi stood from her seat. The others at the table followed her in standing. They bowed as she walked out of the large chamber. Once she was out, she felt her whole body shake. She hated them all and how they treated her sister and her son, but she knew she had to do what was best for her Clan, and keeping Ansei happy and discreet was just that.

“How did it go?” Tori asked. Hanabi looked at her husband. He was so much older than her, but he was kind to her.

“As well as can be expected. How is Ansho?”

“She’ll be up and terrorizing the village before her missions today,” Tori assured the woman. Hanabi sighed. “What will they do with Ansei?”

“He’ll be leaving the village with Naruto for a month,” she answered. “Hopefully the time away from the village and this compound will be good for him. He needs to be free some times.”

“His problems won’t go away, Hanabi,” Tori muttered.

“I know. I just wish he knew that.”

“This will all be over soon, Hanabi,” Tori assured her.

“This will never end,” Hanabi whispered. “Not for him.”

* * *

 

Naruto was in trouble. Sakura hadn’t been too happy about him leaving the village yet again, and had been less happy when he suggested that she and Taiyaki accompany him and his team, but Naruto had already discussed it with Obito. It wasn’t that she didn’t want to spend time with Naruto, it was that he didn’t discuss it with her beforehand.

Naruto sighed. Their argument had been pretty tame. He hadn’t gotten too upset and she had relented quickly, realizing that Naruto was doing his best as a father and husband. Naruto had wanted to take Tai’s whole cell, but he couldn’t ask Konohamaru to leave the village with Moegi so close to giving birth to their third child. The others in Tai’s cell would be on smaller missions. It worked out anyway, since Konohamaru was planning on taking some time off to help around the house.

Naruto looked up at the sky. He had told the girls to meet them at the gates, but, like always, he had to go pick up Ansei. Sometimes the child got too into training and would be late. They were on a schedule and they had to be out of the village by seven that morning.

Naruto was greeted at the gates of the Hyuuga Compound by one of the Branch members who stood guard. He smiled and told the man his business before being led through the compound to where he could pick up Ansei. As they walked on the wooden patio that overlooked a beautiful rock garden, Naruto peeked into one of the open rooms. He stopped for just a moment. In the room was a child. He looked about Taiyaki’s age. Naruto had never seen this child before. He cocked his head. The boy in the room wore what looked like a hospital robe and a surgical mask over his pale and thin face. He stared out at the Zen garden with his pale violet eyes through a thin veil.

“Naruto-san, please keep up,” his guide called. Naruto nodded and looked once more at the child before jogging to catch up.

“Who is that?” Naruto asked.

“Oh, him?” the man responded. He waved his hand. “Just one of the children here. He is no one, sir.”

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, yes. His immune system is weak, so he cannot leave his room very often.”

“I see.”  Naruto looked back at the open door. _Poor kid,_ he thought with a shrug. He bowed to any Hyuuga member they passed and once they made it to Ansei’s room, Naruto knocked on it respectfully. “Ansei, are you ready?” he asked. The door opened to reveal the boy. Naruto looked him over and sighed. He always wore black, like he was mourning something. Even in the hottest months and trips to the Sand Village, the boy wore long sleeves and pants in pure black. He sleeves even acted as gloves, having two holes for his two middle fingers.

“I’m ready, sensei,” Ansei said with a bow. Naruto smiled.

“Then let’s go! We’ve got a long and grand mission!”

Ansei couldn’t help but smile at his teachers over enthusiasm. “Mist Village?” he asked.

“Yep. Nervous?”

“No,” Ansei said truthfully. “I’m ready!”

“Good! Oh, we also have a few extra people on the mission.”

“We do?” Ansei asked.

“Yeah, we do. We’re taking some kids to the orphanage and my son and wife are joining the mission squad.”

“Isn’t that too many people?” Ansei asked. “I thought that teams of four worked the best.”

“Well, we’re getting rid of three of them pretty quickly,” Naruto assured the Hyuuga. “Then we’ll go as one squad.”

“That’s still a lot of people,” Ansei grumbled.

“Sorry,” Naruto muttered. “But don’t worry! You like my son, right?”

Ansei shrugged. “I guess,” he muttered. Naruto sighed. Ansei didn’t really like anyone.

“Don’t worry. We’ll be fine.”

“I’m not worried…”

“Good!” Naruto smiled and placed a hand on his student’s shoulder. The boy flinched slightly, but gave no other indication that he was uncomfortable with the touch. Naruto removed his hand and sighed. As they passed the open door with the sickly Hyuuga, Ansei turned to look inside the room. Naruto noticed the two Hyuuga lock eyes. The younger one, mask gone now, nodded slowly as they passed, offering them a slight smile. Naruto didn’t see Ansei’s expression, but he noted that the sickly child’s smile faded into a troubled frown. “Do you know him?” Naruto asked.

“I don’t,” Ansei answered. He walked faster to avoid any more questions. Naruto sighed and followed his student silently after that. He closed his eyes. There was so much he didn’t understand, it seemed.

“Ansei!” Naruto and the young Hyuuga stopped.

“Lord Hiashi,” Naruto greeted, bowing deeply to the elder Hyuuga. Ansei bowed as well without a verbal greeting.

“Naruto,” the man greeted. “Ansei, may I have a word with you… In private?”

“Whatever you have to say to me, Hiashi-sama, you can say in front of Naruto-sensei.”

“Of course. I just wanted to tell you to be careful.”

Ansei narrowed his eyes. “I will do my duty, sir,” he said quietly. Hiashi seemed ready to speak again, but Ansei lifted his hand. “ _All_ of my duty, Lord Hiashi,” he added.

“Very well. I trust you two have a safe mission,” the Hyuuga said. Naruto nodded and bowed again. Naruto smiled down at his student, who merely offered him a half grin. Naruto placed his hand on the boy’s shoulder and this time he didn’t flinch.

* * *

 

“We’re not orphans,” Boruto grumbled as they waited for Naruto to return. The others in their squad stood a ways from them.

“Shut up, Boruto! Do you want them to hear you?” Sarada snapped. “Who cares if we aren’t? We are here!”

“Why don’t we just tell them the truth?” Himawari muttered. She didn’t understand why those two kept calling this a game. Even at her young age, she didn’t think it was very fun. Now that she had calmed down, she was becoming more agitated with how those two bickered about everything.

Sarada turned to the child and her gaze softened. Himawari frowned. Just because she was the youngest of the three didn’t mean they had to keep treating her like an infant. “We can’t do that, sweetie. They won’t believe us.”

“Why not? It’s not like weirder things haven’t happened in our history,” Himawari reasoned.

Boruto smiled at his sister. Her mom had always said she had her father’s thick head. “I don’t think these guys are as used to what happened in our history as we are.”

“Yeah,” Sarada said. “I don’t think the War happened here, if Obito’s Hokage and all…” Himawari shrugged and looked back down at the hole she had been digging in the dirt.

Boruto sighed. “You’re going to get your clothes all dirty, Hima-chan,” he said. “Come on, up you go!” He lifted her in his arms.

The girl pouted. “I don’t need you to carry me, Boruto!” she protested.

“Fine, fine, but stop digging in the dirt.”

Himawari stuck her tongue out at her brother and walked away from the two, leaving them to fight like an old married couple. She walked over to Sakura and her son. “Hi!” she said, waving.

“Oh, hello!” Sakura said, smiling at the girl. “How are you three doing, hm?”

“We’re good,” the girl answered.

“Good.”

Taiyaki also smiled at her. They were siblings, weren’t they? Himawari walked over to the red and pink haired boy, offering him a hug. Blood rushed to his cheeks and Sakura giggled at her son’s reaction. After a moment, Tai sighed and stroked the girl’s head. “You have pretty hair,” he complimented.

“Thank you!”

Taiyaki smiled down at her. “You’re welcome. So, the blonde is your brother, huh?” Himawari nodded. “He seems nice.”

“He’s a mule,” Himawari said. “At least, that’s what daddy calls him sometimes!”

Both Taiyaki and Sakura fell silent. Himawari looked at them. Had she said something wrong? Sakura knelt before the young girl. “Do you remember your dad?” Himawari nodded. “What was he like…?”

Himawari sighed. She had to lie, didn’t she? “He was really nice… Kind of busy,” she answered as truthfully as possible. “But… I think he did his best for us. Boruto, though, was so mad at him…” She bit her lip. “They were so mad at each other. They yelled a lot.” She remembered that argument that made Boruto want to run away. Boruto had been so mean to their father and had said some hurtful things. Naruto wasn’t purely without fault as well. They had both lost their temper.

She felt arms wrap around her and looked up at Taiyaki. “Don’t worry, kid… It’ll be okay,” he whispered gently.

_My dad’s not dead,_ Himawari thought, but she missed him all the same. Him and Hinata. She leaned into the hug and allowed the other boy to comfort her. She also felt a hand rub her back. Sakura too was comforting her. _I don’t like lying to them,_ she thought sadly.

“Hey guys!” Naruto called. Taiyaki released the girl and Sakura stood. Boruto and Sarada came to stand beside Himawari and the two girls that made up the rest of Naruto’s team came to stand beside the rest of the team. They bowed to Ansei. Himawari looked at the boy and her eyes widened. He was a Hyuuga! She smiled and waved at him, but he merely looked down at the girl with disdain. Boruto stepped in front of his sister slightly, as if challenging the angry Hyuuga to try anything.

Naruto didn’t seem to notice the tension. “Alright, we’ll be dropping off these three at the orphanage before heading out.”

“Will we being staying there over night?” one of the girl asked.

“No,” Naruto said. “We’ll just be dropping them off. Are you all ready?” They all nodded and Naruto smiled. “Let’s go, then!”


End file.
